smile like you mean it
by sasuke's duck butt hair
Summary: He insists he loves her and she responds with icy glares and hushed half-shouts.


**This is my first and only FF7 fic, and I've now edited it – added some stuff and changed around a few words here and there.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, it belongs to the geniuses over at Square Enix.**

**Happy reading!**

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Thirty-five missed calls. She had called him THIRTY-FIVE times, left nineteen voice messages and he couldn't bother to pick up his goddamn phone. So fucking typical.

Tifa sighed resignedly and went back to her current task, wiping a cup with a rag, as her thoughts wandered. It was definitely not unusual for Cloud to do this, as he seldom answered his phone lately and sometimes went missing for days at a time before he would return. She stared into the spotless ceramic mug Denzel and Marlene had given her as a birthday gift two years ago.

Two years ago. They had all been so happy after it was all over. Cloud and Denzel's geostigma was cured. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo – those poor, psychotic souls – were out of the picture for good. Granted, Midgar was still unclean and sullied by Shinra's destructive activities, but after the whole ordeal was over…

He had smiled.

It was a phantom of a grin, barely enough for anyone else to notice, but Tifa did. It was when he was standing waist-deep in that mystical healing fountain in Aerith's church, surrounded by rejoicing children, and staringstraight at Tifa. Seeing Cloud smile was enough to make her heart pulsate with a rhythm that made her shiver.

But that was before. Things got better for a while: Cloud's guilt no longer plagued him, Denzel and Marlene were growing into beautiful little people, and Tifa was happier than ever. _'Life was good back then,_' Tifa thought. Then she grimaced. _'Until we slept together.'_

On her birthday those two years ago, both her and Cloud had gotten more than a little tipsy. Surrounded by their friends' laughter, they had sat next to each other and giggled away all night. "Look at those two lovebirds! Aww, they're meant for each other, aren't they?" Yuffie had sighed.

Cloud, had he been sober, would have blushed at the remark and looked away. The tipsy Cloud, however, had whispered in Tifa's ear, and ten minutes later the two of them staggered home, arm in arm, and made passionate, drunken love on Tifa's bed. Tifa awoke the morning after, taken one look at Cloud, and smiled. Life was good. She was falling in love.

Too bad Cloud hadn't felt the same way. After that evening, he stayed out late almost every night. He avoided her like she was a cop and he was a wanted criminal. He often wandered out of Midgar and stayed away for days in a row. He floated in and out all the time. Even when he was home – a rare occasion these days – it was obvious to everyone near him that his mind was far away, somewhere else. He was always somewhere else.

And she was always waiting. Desperate to regain what she had lost.

Tifa sighed again and put down the cup as she stared at her empty bar. The night was quiet as hell. She had been cleaning the same ceramic mug for twenty minutes now, she realised. Marlene and Denzel were already asleep, so she decided to wait for Cloud to show up.

Three hours later, at precisely 2:30 AM, the door to the bar swung open. Tifa looked up to see a figure drenched in shadows sway back and forth, and amble into the bar. The wooden floor panels creaked in protest.

Tifa stood up and folded her arms across her chest as she surveyed a heavily intoxicated Cloud. He put his hands on the counter to support himself, took a breath, and looked up at the scowling Tifa.

"Hey Teef," he slurred.

Tifa shook her head and sighed again, lowering her gaze to her ground. When she looked back up, Cloud was sporting a half-grin on his face.

"Cloud, why are y-"

"I love you."

Her wine-coloured eyes fixed upon him. She blinked. Then those eyes delivered to him a disgusted glare. She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut with irritation. "Why are you drunk, Cloud? _Today_ of all days?"

Cloud stood up straight, or tried to anyway, and locked those sunken baby blues on Tifa's face. "I mean it. I love you, Tifa."

Now Tifa was just plain pissed off. Stamping her foot angily, she nearly shouted at him before she remembered that the children were asleep. Keeping her rage in check, she hissed, "Well, maybe I would believe you if you hadn't decided to get so piss drunk tonight."

With that she threw one more malicious look at Cloud and stormed upstairs. When she was halfway up the staircase, she heard Cloud repeat, "I mean it," and her frustration grew.

Tifa half-slammed the door to her room and collapsed onto her bed, angry tears brimming in her eyes like restless waves lapping the shore. She swiped them away and bit her lip.

_'Why today, Cloud? Why not any other day?' _Tifa rolled onto her side and squeezed her eyes shut. _Tomorrow's my birthday and you couldn't even manage to stay sober for just one night.'_

The next morning, Tifa woke up and groaned, recalling the incident with Cloud. She rolled over onto her side, deciding that she could give herself an extra five minutes of snoozing time. It was her birthday after all.

As Tifa was about to close her eyes, she noticed a splash of colour on her bedside table. She sat up and eyed the piece of paper. It was flamingo pink, and looked out of place in her monochromatic bedroom.

'_**Your clothes are on your desk'**__,_ was all the note read.

Tifa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked over at her desk. On it was a light green summer dress.

Tifa stood up and walked over to the dress. She picked up the neatly folded article of clothing and examined it. After deciding it was gorgeous, she dashed into the bathroom to put it on, barely stopping to wonder how it had ended up in her room in the first place.

Tifa looked at herself in the mirror, smoothing out the satin material and admiring the way it fit perfectly. The dress had two thin spaghetti straps and it ended about mid-thigh. Tifa tied a pearly white sash around her waist and added the finishing touch – a vintage pearl necklace. After slipping into a pair of creamy white flats and running a comb through her raven-coloured hair, she turned to head out of her room.

Walking over to the door, Tifa noticed a sticky-note right above the doorknob.

_'__**Your chariot awaits. Go outside.**__'_

Tifa's face scrunched up in puzzlement. _'What a weird birthday. My friends must've put this little surprise together. I bet Yuffie took the lead in planning it… God, I always tell that girl never to put too much effort into this kind of stuff, but she ends up going all out.'_

Tifa couldn't help but wonder where Marlene and Denzel were. She would have expected them to come barrelling into her room early in the morning like excited little puppies. But the bar was desolate, just as it was last night.

Stepping outside, she noticed _The Shera_ gliding through the sky, coming in her direction. Tifa shook her head with disbelief and chuckled to herself. _'I am going to KILL them. Yuffie first, of course.' _Still, she couldn't keep a wide smile from gracing her face. _'Well. At least they care.'_

Ten minutes later, Tifa found herself anxiously sitting, blindfolded, in the airship as Cid Highwind flew _the Shera _to some unknown destination. Cid had refused to tell her where they were headed, only sighing: "Just put the goddamn blindfold on, woman. If ya sit yer ass down you'll find out where we're goin' soon enough."

Tifa shifted in her seat uncomfortably. If her friends were trying to surprise her, couldn't they have planned a regular party at a nice little restaurant instead of dragging her around? She felt like a helpless hostage in an action film. Not that she would ever let herself be the damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. No, sir.

Her shoulders slumped as she realised that Cloud wasn't going to be a part of this strange little function seeing as he was probably recovering from a nasty hangover. _'Hmph. Serves him right for getting so drunk last night.'_ Despite her righteous thoughts, a lump of dejection settled in her stomach and Tifa sighed.

A few minutes later, Tifa found herself being guided off the airship by Cid. When he finally slid the blindfold off her eyes, she blinked in shock. She was indeed expecting a surprise party, but not one that looked as nice as what she was greeted with. Saying it looked beautiful was a vast understatement.

Tifa was greeted with a view of a still lake, the sun beaming its rays down onto the cerulean water, causing the surface to glisten like a bed of jewels. The lush, tall grass growing around the lake glowed in the light; the unusually vibrant shade of green contrasting against the shimmering water. She noticed that there were countless white lilies scattered on the sand near the lake.

What made the sight even more beautiful for Tifa was the fact that all of AVALANCHE was standing a few feet away from her, most of them grinning goofily at her as she beamed back at them. She couldn't help but notice Cloud wasn't with them, but the gloomy thought disappeared as soon as she saw Denzel and Marlene carrying a gargantuan chocolate cake, topped with lit candles in pink and white, laughing even as they struggled with the weight of the cake.

Chuckling merrily, Tifa ran towards her friends while they burst into a joyful chorus of "happy birthday". Tifa laughed with glee throughout the song, revelling in her friends' sunny faces. Barret, Yuffie, Nanaki, Cait Sith, Vincent, Cid, Shera, Marlene, and Denzel… all of them were there. _'They're all here… except for Cloud.' _Tifa thought. Her smile was starting to falter until Yuffie shouted, "BLOW OUT THE CANDLES, TEEF! Look, there are twenty-five of them, 'cause you're twenty-five today!" Tifa happily obliged.

The group watched the sun sink into the horizon, casting its final rays of sunlight across the placid lake, while Vincent lit some floating candles (after being badgered by Yuffie) and let them sail into the distance like tiny sailboats. Fireflies drifted amongst the blades of damp grass.

…But of course, the tranquillity HAD to be shattered as Yuffie shrieked, "PRESENTS!" while everyone collectively glared at her for nearly making them go deaf.

Barret, Yuffie, Cid, Shera, and the kids went to go bring over the presents while Tifa debated with herself whether or not to ask where Cloud was. She decided to keep quiet as the first present was shoved into her lap, Yuffie excitedly demanding, "Open mine first!" Tifa opened each gift one by one, thanking everyone about thirty times per gift. After they were all open, Tifa looked up at the star-splattered evening sky and grinned away.

After a few seconds, she heard Denzel say, "Wait, there's one more."

Marlene handed her the final gift, a little black box encircled by a cherry red ribbon. Perplexed, she glanced at the others' blank faces, only receiving shrugs in response.

Tifa untied the ribbon and opened the box to reveal a platinum band encrusted with a row of sparkling diamonds and emeralds. She gasped as she heard a voice say from behind her, "I meant it."

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**Well, that's it! I know, I know – it's super cheesy. But CloTi is just too cute for me to write uncheesily. :)**

**Please review, I'm happy with even a word or two!**


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